Gas pump overflowed, did I overreact?

Question

Last night I was filling my car's tank at the gas station, and it was cold out, so I sat in my car with the door open as it was fueling, watching the gas meter. My car normally takes around 13.5 gallons, and when I saw the numbers hit 14, I jumped out to see gas pouring out of my tank. Never had this happen in my life. I immediately went into the attached convenience store to tell them a half gallon of gas was sitting in a large puddle by their pumps, and asked if they had sand or something since it was obviously a hazard. The old, crochety woman's only comment was "weren't you manning the pump?? These old pumps tend to do that!" I stared at her and again said, "regardless, there's a large puddle of gas by your pumps and it could be very dangerous, I'm letting you know so you can call someone or put something on it!" She gave me a dirty look, ignored me and went to the next customer. I kid you not.
I ended up trying to warn people away, and was told to just let it evaporate.

No one seemed concerned, but I'm telling you the puddle wasn't small. I decided against starting my car (or sitting in it, lol) until it evaporated. I called my boyfriend, who said to put the car in neutral and push it out. I didn't want to leave another customer to roll into it, though. Half an hour later, the puddle was still there, and the convenience store did nothing. One guy told me I had nothing to worry about without an open flame nearby, but I remember all the stories of sparks or static electricity, so I still wasn't comfortable with starting the car. People all around it just kept getting gas. I ended up kicking silt from the sides of the road onto the puddle, and finally got out of there. Here's my question....did I overreact? Should I have called the fire department or the cops as the convenince store didn't care? I realized I had no clue what to do, except stay away from the car, and I was really suprised no one thought it was a big deal despite the fact it was the bigges

spill I'd ever seen at a station.

Answer 1

You do not realize that the gasoline on the ground was not the great fire hazard you perceived. It would have taken a flame, or a lit cigarette to ignite it once it had settled into the puddle.
What is the hazard is the fumes from pumping. In actual fact, you are lucky to be alive. Many gas station fires are started by static electricity, and sliding into your car, and back out is what generates it. If you had called police, you could very well have gotten a ticket for not paying attention to the pump. Spilled gasoline is a major polluter of ground water.
Yes, the station should have had a compound available to sop up the gas. What you do now is make an anonymous call to the nearest fire hall to mention the station has no procedure in place to deal with the spilled gas. They will investigate. I say anonymous, because you could be ticketed for a violation with their report as well.

Answer 2

She old hen should of taken care of it> And she knew there was a problem with the pump> Next time call 911 tell them the pump wouldn't shut off and there's gas all over the ground>& the ststion won't do nothing about it>The fire department will respond and clean it up> And give the owner a talking to or a notice>

Answer 3

You did exactly right. A half gallon of gas has enough explosive power to send a whole car 15 miles! Obviously there's a lot of energy there. Gas station fires are uncommon but not unheard of, and if you were close enough to warn people, you would certainly be at risk of injury in the unlikely event the puddle caught fire.

Because it's infrequent, people think it's a joke. But when it happens it's no joke, and if you were close enough to warn people, you were too close.

Answer 4

Personally, I would have called the fire dept. Also, now you know it is never a good idea not to man the punp while it is operating for this very reason. I never sit in my car, I always hold the hose and watch the pump. Someone could have come after you and been smoking a cigarette...people do things like that.

Answer 5

First off, you were WRONG and could have been DEAD wrong. There is a label on all gasoline pumps which tells you NOT to leave the pump unmanned. So the cranky ole lady was right -- where the hell were you? If you're too lazy to stand by until you fill up, don't fill up! Simple. Or wait until it gets warmer .. yeah right. You people who don't follow safety rules when posted then go off in this "I care about what ....". If you cared enough you'd follow the rules. Stay at the pump outside the car to prevent accidents like this one. Also you probably are the type that uses their cell phone when filling up. Find the incident on the Internet where a lady got totally burned for using the cell phone around gasoline vapors. Grow up and follow the rules.

Answer 6

Most convenience stores deal with this on a regular basis and usually have stuff on hand to clean it. I don't work for a gas station but have dealt with spills as a truck driver I have seen them alot. You were right in letting them know and I would think twice about using that store again

Answer 7

this is happened to me too and it's not old pumps I was at a Phillips/ Conoco when it happened and it was more like 10$ worth that spilled out..I go to the same station every day, used to use the same pump everyday..I'd start it then go in and get my coffee, it never kicked off, the station had to call the fire department to clean it up..what made me mad was the manager made it sound like it was my fault when the pump didn't kick off like it was supposed to, now since then at lest twice a month that pump is closed because it won't kick off.

Answer 8

The loser that was manning the till should have done something as is required. I would contact the manager of the store and let him/her know what the employee did....nothing. It was an unsafe situation. Many people (as unwise as it is)smoke at or near the pumps and it could have gotten "ugly" real fast.

Answer 9

You did NOT overreact. This is a dangerous situation, and not your responsibility. Iwould have called the police. If I were you, I'd still call them, and let them know they should keep an eye on that station, as it may well happen again, and someone could get badly hurt.

Answer 10

I would have done the same thing. They would've been so sorry if the gas station would have caught on fire. There's nothing wrong with warning people. Good job!